By Katherine Hobson

We’re glad this one came well after lunch: The FDA inspectors who visited Wright County Egg, one of the producers at the heart of the salmonella-related egg recall, reported finding wild birds, rodents, dead and live flies, maggots and chicken manure piled up to eight feet high in or near the producer’s facilities.

The FDA’s so-called Form 483 reports (follow links for the actual reports) for Wright County Egg and the other farm suspected as a source of the tainted eggs, Hillandale Farms of Iowa, indicate inspectors’ observations only and don’t constitute a final ruling on any violations of FDA regulations. But they make for pretty stomach-turning reading. Among the findings of the report on Wright County Egg, also known as Quality Egg:

Non-chicken feathers, live wild birds and pigeons in or near some of the laying houses.

Chicken manure piled between 4 feet and 8 feet high in a pit below some of the laying houses. “The outdoor access doors to the manure pits at these locations had been pushed out by the weight of the manure, leaving open access to wildlife or domesticated animals,” the report says.

In some laying houses, “dark liquid which appeared to be manure was observed seeping through the concrete foundation to the outside.”

Live mice observed inside laying houses.

Live and dead flies “too numerous to count” inside laying houses. On a conference call with reporters, an FDA official reported that inspectors crushed live flies under their feet. There were also live and dead maggots “too numerous to count” on the manure pit floor of one of the houses.

At a feed mill, bird were observed roosting and flying in the storage and milling facility, and nesting material was found in areas including ingredient storage.

In a statement, Wright County Egg said the company has “worked around the clock to address concerns that were raised verbally during FDA’s inspection, with many of those being fixed as soon as they were identified” and would do the same with the written report. The “vast majority” of the issues identified in the report have already been addressed, the company said, and the rest are expected to be corrected by mid-September.

As the FDA said last week, salmonella contamination was found in several places in the Wright Egg and Quality Egg facilities, including a sample of meat and bone meal used in feed. But the FDA has not yet indicated the exact source of the troublesome contamination.

At Hillandale Farms, FDA inspectors observed unsealed rodent holes and live rodents entering facilities, as well as standing water and liquid manure leaking into a section of the floor. Salmonella was found in water from an egg-washing station. A spokeswoman for Hillandale Farms told the WSJ the company was “in the process of responding to the FDA’s written report to provide further explanation and clarification of what was observed,” adding that “several of the issues” had already been identified by the company and were being dealt with.

The FDA couldn’t give more detail on the ongoing investigation into the two farms. Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods, said over the next six months the agency would inspect every facility subject to new egg-safety rules that went into effect July 9. That will cover 50,000 laying hens representing 80% of U.S. egg production, he said. The FDA will prioritize its list by an estimate of which facilities are at greatest risk, he said.

It’s difficult to know how common the kind of observations seen at the farms, since these egg rules are new. But Taylor said “we have no reason to believe this is practice in the industry.”

Comments (5 of 8)

This did not happen when I was a girl - before everybody was crying for deregulation. The government regulates individuals to death - and so people want deregulation. But then no matter who we elect, regulation of individuals continues while large companies like BP and these egg producers run scott free poisoning for profit. The government needs to get off our backs and onto theirs. Tea partiers: You have the right idea, but you're being used!

8:54 pm August 31, 2010

Sick of it all wrote :

Where was the governing agency (FDA or USDA?) that is supposed to inspect these places to prevent this type of event from happening? Looking the other way? Sitting at home and getting paid? Someone needs to lose their job over this! Our governmet officials need to be held accountable! Give someone who is out of work a chance to try being a paid government official like a USDA inspector. Sick of this crap!

10:42 am August 31, 2010

hello wrote :

Confused is right. This is a FARM. I grew up on a farm. Guess what -- we had rodents, flies -- dead and alive --, maggots in the manure and all sorts of uncomfortable things that the average American doesn't want associated with their food supply. Are we that uneducated to think that these things aren't normal? Yet many say they don't want any pesticides, herbicides or insecticides anywhere near their food. Really!! Which is it? Get a real cause.

10:34 am August 31, 2010

Dave wrote :

Wow, what a surprise. I would never have even dreamed that this could happen in the good ole' US of A. We all know that our wonderful agri-businesses feed the world. We have, through our great entrepreneurs, managed to develop the best most efficient way of producing food - ever!!!! Wrong, dead wrong. The quest for the all-lmighty dollar has produced the most filthy dishonest farming businesses ever. This economy has made it impossible for farmers to make a living without cutting corners and this is the problem. Family farms go broke and sell out to agri-business. Then, to maximize profits, the agri-businesses resort to "factory farming" resulting in antibiotic resistant ecoli; rbgh induced hormone problems in young children and he list goes on. Read about it on Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_farming. Ok, I mean really read about it - check out the 60 references used by Wikipedia on the subject and note that the article presents both sides of this issue. It's the factory farms that are filthy.

Editor Comment

7:22 am August 31, 2010

Katherine Hobson wrote :

Confused: the significance of these findings is that they were in or close enough to the laying hens or the eggs themselves to raise the concern of cross-contamination -- i.e. these things are what can spread salmonella and other pathogens. None of the observed findings were "normal" per FDA.